A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to information distribution systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods that facilitate the distribution of information from various sources to multiple subscribers.
B. Description of Related Art
Over the last decade, networks, such as the Internet, have expanded by many orders of magnitude. The types of information provided over these networks have also increased and now include streaming audio, video, multi-player network interactive games, and other multimedia information. With the vast amount of information available, it has become extremely important to distribute the information in as efficient and economical a manner as possible, especially at the edges of the networks, where mobile nodes may tie into wireless networks.
Some conventional systems use broadcast technology to distribute information. Broadcasting permits information providers to send a single message that is replicated and transmitted across a network. If a user desires information from one or more broadcast streams, the user needs to identify the information providers that supply the information and constantly monitor the network for broadcast messages from the identified information providers. These conventional systems do not permit the user to customize the delivery of the information.
Other conventional systems use multicast technology to distribute information. Multicasting permits information providers to send a single message that is replicated and transmitted to hundreds and thousands of subscribers across a network. If a user desires information in this case, the user must determine what information providers supply the desired information and subscribe to their information delivery services. It is not always easy, however, to find these information providers and once they are found, they may not permit the user to customize the delivery of the information.
As a result, a need exists for a system that facilitates the information request process and permits users to customize the types of information they receive.
Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address this need by providing at least one agent that gathers information from multiple sources, packages the information into customized bundles, and delivers the bundles to subscribers according to a set of rules using multicast routing techniques.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a system provides information to multiple subscribers. The system receives requests for different types of information from the subscribers and stores rules for delivering the requested information. The system gathers information from multiple information sources, packages at least some of the gathered information into customized bundles according to the received requests and the stored rules, and delivers the customized bundles to the subscribers according to the stored rules.
In another implementation consistent with the present invention, an agent connects to at least one information source and at least one subscriber. The agent includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores instructions. The processor executes the instructions in the memory to collect different types of information from the information sources, package at least some of the collected information into bundles based on preferences of the subscribers, generate multicast messages containing the bundles, and transmit the multicast messages to appropriate ones of the subscribers.
In a further implementation consistent with the present invention, a method for delivering information includes receiving requests for different types of information from multiple subscribers; collecting information from multiple information sources over a network; identifying parts of the collected information common to the requests of a group of the subscribers; generating a multicast message containing the common information; and transmitting the multicast message to the group of subscribers.